Ear speculum



March 26, 1968 s, WESTERMAN 3,374,791

EAR SPECULUM Filed July 21, 1965 5'- 740m; ii gg 1 BY KW! z W ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,374,791 EAR SPECULUM Samuel Thomas Westerman, 519 E. Tabor Road,

Philadelphia, Pa. 19120 Filed July 21, 1965, Ser. No. 473,738 2 Claims. (Cl. 128-343) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An ear speculum which terminates upwardly in a wide mouth which is finished with an outwardly rolled -'peripheral rim and a pair of rim connected, curved finger hold extensions substantially diametrically opposed and extending outwardy from the said rolled rim.

This invention relates in general to the field of surgery, and is more particularly directed to a novel ear speculum designed especially for microscopic o'tologic surgery.

It is highly desirable in any surgery to produce a dry operative field and this is usually achieved through the use of an aspirator. While the aspirator aids in the actual surgical procedure, it also introduces an inherent problem in that it must be held and directed into position. It is of course highly undesirable for the surgeon himself to manipulate the aspirator. In accordance with prior practice, this would normally require the employment of one of the surgeons hands which could be better utilized in performing the operation.

Prior art devices that have been heretofore produced in the instant field have not entirely developed a satisfactory solution. Various ear speculum headholders have been produced to free both hands for operating. These devices all suffer from the same common deficiency in that they do not allow as flexible a change of view in the operating field as desired. This limitation has proven most troublesome during the operation. Other specula have been equipped to permit assistants to aid the surgeon by holding them in place. These too do not solve the problem as the assistants cannot always know the exact field of view desired.

It is therefore an object of the instant invention to provide an improved speculum of the type set forth.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved speculum incorporating supporting structure which will allow both hands to operate simultaneously.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved speculum that is easily maneuverable to any desired position.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel speculum incorporating external finger grasping structures.

It is another object of this invention to provide an improved speculum featuring external structures of unique configuration to accommodate the ring and last fingers of one hand and thereby free the thumb and index fingers for other purposes.

It is another object of this invention to provide a novel speculum that is simple in manufacture, rugged in construction and trouble-free when in use.

Other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention will be had by referring to the following description and claims of a preferred embodiment thereof, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to similar parts throughout the several views and in which:

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a device constructed in accordance with the instant invention.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view thereof.

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view thereof.

FIG. 4 is an end elevational view, partly broken away 3,374,791 Patented Mar. 26, 1968 ice.

and partly in section showing the invention in use as inserted in an ear canal.

Although specific terms are used in the following description for the sake of clarity, these terms are intended to refer only to the particular structure of my invention selected for illustration in the drawings and are not intended to define or limit the scope of the invention.

Referring now to the drawings, I show an ear speculum A having a stainless steel body 10 of conventional configuration defining an operative interior channel 12. The speculum terminates upwardly in a wide mouth 14 and is finished in an outwardly rolled peripheral rim 16. The speculum restricts downwardly in the usual manner to form an insertion end 18 of relatively narrow, cylindrical configuration.

A pair of curved holding extensions 20, 22 that are substantially diametrically opposed join the top rim 16 in secure weld connections 24, 26. The extensions 20, 22 project outwardly from the speculum A to provide convenient finger holding appendages. The extensions are illustrated as being fabricated substantially as one-quarter cylindrical sections, modified as required to permit securing the speculum between the last finger 30 and ring finger 28 to permit complete maneuverability during the operation. In this manner, the thumb 32 and index finger 34 of the same hand remain free to hold an aspirator 3t; and thus a single hand of the surgeon can be utilized to accomplish two purposes simultaneously leaving the second hand unencumbered and available to use another operating instrument.

A dry operating field is thus produced by the aspirator which can be quickly changed to coincide with any change of the microscope inasmuch as all instruments are then under the complete, individual control of a single person.

While one-quarter cylindrical sections are shown for finger holding purposes in the preferred embodiment illustrated, it is within the scope of this invention to utilize extensions 20, 22 of any configuration that will provide satisfactory finger anchorage such as rings, half-rings, cylinders, and similar constructions.

Although I have described my invention with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as hereinafter claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. In an ear speculum, the combination of (A) a downwardly tapered body,

(1) said body terminating upwardly in a horizontally disposed, wide mouth,

(a) said wide mouth being finished with an outwardly rolled peripheral rim,

(2) said body being hollowed to define an interior operative channel;

(B) a pair of curved, holding extensions afiixed to the said rolled rim,

(1) said extensions being substantially diametrically opposed, (2) said extensions projecting outwardly from the said wide mouth, (3) said extensions being fabricated substantially as one quarter round cylindrical sections,

(a) the curved portion of said cylindrical sections facing respectively away from each other,

(b) a portion of said section extending both above and below the said rim, and

(c) the said cylindrical sections open up- Wardly.

2. The invention of claim 1 wherein the said holding extensions converge slightly toward each other to provide Convenient finger holding appendages to permit securing the ear speculum between the last finger and 'the ring finger of the hand of the user.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1 z 7 4: 2,623,523 12/1952 Benson 12s 233 3,132,645 5/1964 Gasper 12s 3 3,259,130 7/1966 Krauthamer 12s 21s 5 FOREIGN PATENTS Ad. 3,710 1887 Great Britain. 719,538 12/1954 Great Britain.

10 RICHARD ALGAUDET, Primary Examiner.

K. HOWELL, Assistant Examiner. 

